Texas 45 road project gets boost

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Texas 45, proposed as a major east-west artery for southern Williamson County, cleared a significant hurdle Thursday when it received final environmental clearance. Officials say the news is crucial in the quest to provide congestion relief for motorists in northern Travis and southern Williamson counties. However, the Texas Turnpike Authority, a division of the Texas Department of Transportation, still faces two major issues.

"We need to get the right of way so we can build this roadway, and we need to get the final decision as to whether this road will be developed as a toll road," said Randall Dillard, spokesman for the Transportation Department. The state is conducting traffic and revenue studies to determine whether to make Texas 45 a toll road, Dillard said. The decision will be made by the end of the year. If the highway is developed as a toll road, construction could begin in the summer of 2002; otherwise, it would not be built for years because it would have to compete with other state projects, Dillard said. The Transportation Department, which awards about $3 billion in projects each year, can afford to fund only about 36 percent of all requests, he said.

Environmental approval came via a nine-page fax from the Federal Highway Administration, making Texas 45 the second Turnpike Authority project to receive approval. The MoPac Boulevard extension received environmental clearance in July, and officials expect to receive word this spring on whether Texas 130 and U.S. 183A will be cleared, Dillard said. Together, the projects, referred to as the "Big Four," make up 122 miles of state road improvements and carry a $3.2 billion price tag.

Texas 45, a six-lane, 15-mile highway, would connect Anderson Mill Road west of Lakeline Mall to FM 685, east of Round Rock. The $500 million road would help relieve traffic headaches created at the intersection of FM 1325 and Interstate 35, one of Williamson County's busiest intersections. With Thursday's approval, both projects that make up the "Big T" -- the intersection of Texas 45 and the MoPac extension -- have passed major obstacles, said Pete Winstead, chairman of the Turnpike Authority. MoPac will be extended from Parmer Lane to near the intersection of FM 1325 and County Road 172. "It's one of the key linchpins to our Central Texas turnpike project," he said.

Buying land for projects falls to local entities. Round Rock has dedicated $16 million from a half-cent sales tax to buy the right of way and has started building frontage roads for the highway, Mayor Robert Stluka said. The Williamson County Commissioners Court, which has made Texas 45 a priority, approved $26 million for that project and MoPac in December, but could contribute more if needed, Commissioner Mike Heiligenstein said. "This particular roadway and this environmental clearance is critical for us because we did have some sensitive environmental features," he said, referring to caves containing the endangered Bone Cave harvestman, a tiny invertebrate. To minimize impact on the creature, the state must create a 160-acre cave preserve, among other measures.